Brackets for this season’s Georgia high school football playoffs were finalized this past weekend after Holy Innocents’ rout of Hapeville Charter on Saturday. With a plethora of interesting storylines and matchups to come over the next five weeks, here’s a breakdown of each classification’s playoff bracket.
Class 1A-DI
The biggest first-round matchup in this classification comes between Brooks County and Bleckley County. The Royals began their season 6-0 before losing two of their final four games. The most appealing potential quarterfinals matchup will take place in the bottom left quadrant, where Rabun County could meet Swainsboro in a classic offense versus defense battle.
Keep an eye out for second-round matchups between Elbert County and PACS, and Dublin against Metter; all of these teams have been stellar performers in the second half of the season.
Class 1A-DII
While no first-round matchups provide much excitement on paper, several games in the later rounds will pit top-5 teams against each other. Bowdon and Early County will meet in the quarterfinals, barring any upsets, and so will Clinch County and Johnson County.
Schley County has the easiest path to the semifinals, as none of their potential playoff opponents are currently ranked in the top 10. Lincoln County’s first-round bye gives them the opportunity to plan ahead for a potential quarterfinals draw with Charlton County.
Class 2A
Spencer stunned the state with an upset over Northeast to clinch the region title. However, their road is rough in the Georgia high school football playoffs, first against Berrien then Pierce County, followed by likely either ELCA or Fellowship Christian.
The high-powered rush offense of South Atlanta will run into either Cook or Thomson in the quarterfinals, providing the Hornets with their first true challenge this season. All signs point to a Fitzgerald-Rockmart quarterfinals matchup, which may be the Canes’ biggest obstacle en route to repeat state titles.
Class 3A
Could we see three Region 5 teams in the 3A quarterfinals of the Georgia high school football playoffs? For this to happen, Carver-Atlanta would have to get by Monroe Area or Dawson County in the second round and Sandy Creek would have to overcome the stingy defense of top-seeded Stephens County.
A quarterfinals matchup between Cedar Grove and Calvary Day looms large, while Oconee County may have a chance at playoff redemption with a relatively easy bottom right quadrant to work with. The Dougherty-Mary Persons first-round game may also be one to watch.
Class 4A
This classification provides some of the best first-round matchups, including tilts between Pace Academy and Stephenson, Burke County and LaGrange, Westminster and Lovett, and Trinity Christian and Wayne County.
The left side of the bracket has the two most interesting quarterfinals matchups, as Bainbridge may run into Cedartown and North Oconee’s defense would clash with Perry’s offense. The bottom right quadrant is the most susceptible to a sleeper, as Troup County’s loss to LaGrange proves that the Tigers aren’t invincible.
Class 5A
Two great defenses, Dutchtown and Jefferson, are on a collision course set for the quarterfinals. The winner could play Ware County, whose toughest challenge may come in the first round against Jones County. In the top right quadrant, Northside-Columbus’s stellar season may come to an end against Warner Robins in the second round, setting up a potential quarterfinals matchup with Creekside.
Don’t sleep on Loganville though; they may have what it takes to upset the Seminoles in the second round. The bottom right quadrant will likely be defined by a second-round game between Cartersville and Cambridge.
Class 6A
It appears that this classification is Langston Hughes’s to lose, but they’ll have to get through the winner of Lee County and Woodward Academy in the quarterfinals. Elsewhere, potential second-round matchups between Rome and Alpharetta, Gainesville and South Paulding, and Marist and Northside-Warner Robins loom large. This appears to be the strength of the 6A bracket.
The most enticing quarterfinals matchup in the 6A Georgia high school football playoffs might come between Roswell and Thomas County Central, both of whom have been on fire this season. The Hornets built off a magical quarterfinals run last season, while the Yellow Jackets have taken the class by storm with great coaching and undefeated football.
Class 7A
There are exciting matchups everywhere in this bracket. The two biggest second-round tilts in the state may come between North Cobb and Mill Creek and Buford and Walton. Lambert has the opportunity to continue making history by reaching the quarterfinals for the first time ever, but they’ll need to get by region champion North Gwinnett.
The most exciting first two rounds come in the top right, where the winner of Valdosta-Westlake takes on the victor of Parkview and North Paulding. Ultimately, could we see a Buford-Mill Creek rematch in the state championship?
